E-bike scheme backed by council launches
Organisers of a free electric cargo bicycle scheme for Shrewsbury are hoping it will reduce traffic in the town.
Active travel charity Shrewsbury Cycle Hub say the two new cargo bikes will be made available for free for Shrewsbury residents following a £13,000 grant for their purchase from Shrewsbury Town Council.
The “economically and socially sustainable” scheme allows residents to use the bikes for free for the first 24 hours, which are designed to carry shopping and small cargo, and also offer commercial uses such as transporting goods and parcels.
The initiative comes hot on the heels of the launch of a public consultation for Shropshire Council’s “movement strategy” for Shrewsbury, which aims to encourage pedestrians and cyclists by reducing through traffic in the town centre.
Councillor Julian Dean, Shrewsbury Town Councillor said the timing of the launch of the scheme was “perfect”, in line with the movement strategy consultation.
“They’re a fantastic addition to the resources of the town, hopefully people will make use of these and we’ll see more and more of them,” he said.
“It ties in perfectly with the introduction of the Shrewsbury Movement Strategy, which is going to reduce the amount of car based traffic in town but the opportunities for cargo bikes to whizz around and do deliveries is absolutely part of what the strategy is all about, so the timing is perfect.
“I hope businesses will wake up to the opportunity, I think it’s a great thing for the town.”
Mark Fermor, chair of the trustees of Shrewsbury Cycle Hub said the scheme was designed to enable lifestyle shifts where people could leave the car at home if they needed to move large items.
“One of the critical things is to enable journeys where people would normally think about having to get the car, just to get something in the boot,” he said.
“These bikes are enabling that shift to not needing the car and families taking kids to school, going to the shop and people who just want to get around – we’re giving people an opportunity to try that out.
“It’s try before you buy but it’s also, if you haven’t got the money or you just need it occasionally you can borrow or hire one whenever you need it.
“It’s not right for everyone, but for a lot of people it can be part of their day-to-day life and all the shorter journeys can be done this way. We’ve seen huge take-up with people living in Shrewsbury who are starting to change their lifestyle around this transport mode.”
